Emmanuel Mouret writes, directs and stars in yet another romantic comedy. Before I go in details about this little gem, I should mention that "romantic comedy" has become an umbrella term that encompasses many sub-genres, from deeply romantic films with a light tone to crass humor featuring some form of relationship.

The term romantic comedy as applied to Fais-Moi Plaisir! is definitely of the witty variety. The situations are sometimes comical but never excessive. Much like the director, the main character and his girlfriend explicitly wonder about love, lust and relationships. Although there is much introspective dialogue, it is funny and light. Think "When Harry Met Sally" and you're on the right track.

Mouret is never going to be cast as an action hero but wisely elects for a natural style of acting that makes the whole movie even more endearing. The largely feminine cast around him is absolutely charming and the chemistry seems genuine to us. The shining star for me was Déborah François, who was immediately noticeable even in scenes where she was but a secondary character. As she becomes more involved, you just can't help but almost fall in love with her.

Every far-fetched situation in this film is followed by yet another, always taking a new and odd direction but you're just happy to follow the ride until the end. And make no mistake, although the tone is decidedly light, there are several metaphors contained and also a few homages to comedy classics.

Mouret as a director talks about modern love, using restraint found mostly in older movies. His characters too seem to explore how relationships should work in this modern age. And while the film provides no definitive answer, underneath all the light silliness he does portrait our times pretty accurately.

Strongly recommended!

Jean-Jacques and Ariane's feet are seen out of a blanket as the story begins. Ariane obviously wants to sleep, while a playful Jean-Jacques wants sex. Ariane has all kinds of excuses for not giving her man what he wants. First, she must finish her book; she only has a few pages to read! After that, her excuse is she must have her coffee. And so it goes, Jean-Jacques doing everything possible to cater to Ariane's desires, but never getting what he wants.

Jean-Jacques recounts to Ariane how he met a friend of a friend, a not particularly handsome man, who told he and his buddy, as they sat at a bar drinking, how he always got lucky with women. His technique, when he finds a woman he likes, consists in writing a flattering note to any lady he wants to have. He has the note given to the intended conquest, and more than likely, he will get lucky in wooing the woman through conversation and suavity.

Ariane has a change of heart after Jean-Jacques tells the story of the friend. What is more, he tried his friend's technique on an attractive woman he met at a bistro. Before leaving for work at the hospital where she is a nurse, she wants Jean-Jacques to have his way with the woman he desires. After all, it is a modern approach to their relationship. Let him have his fun, then tell her about it.

Jean-Jacques, who got the woman's telephone number, calls her for a rendezvous. The address is confusing because it is around the Elysee Palace, the French president's official residence. It proves to be quite an ordeal getting to Elisabeth's place. When he gets there, he is for the surprise of his life, the woman he is seeing is the daughter of the president!

Emmanuel Mouret a young French director, created an impressive comedy that is a joy to watch. Never going over the top, the film is more of a farce than a just a comedy. There are all kinds of things that go wrong, especially during a party Elisabeth is giving to her friends, where all things go wrong, including a trip to the bathroom where the toilet is almost impossible to find, and the bidet has a sculpture of a naked woman on top of it! Mr. Mouret orchestrates everything as a sort of intimate chamber piece, played with good taste, which gets good results without ever becoming vulgar. It is a comedy that elicits laughs, but not guffaws.

One of the best things in the film is the director himself, playing Jean-Jacques with a straight face despite of all the unexpected things happening to him. Mr. Mouret is a good comedian that shows his low key approach to being funny pays off in surprising ways. The women in his life are played by Frederique Bel seen as Ariane. Judith Godreche appears as Elisabeth and Deborah Francois is Aneth. Jacques Weber is the president of France, a regular man that only wants to be called Antoine.

This is a delightful comedy that shows the talent of its creator Emmanuel Mouret in a surprising film.

Jean-Jacques (Emmanuel Mouret himself) and Ariane (Frédèrique Bel) live together happily in their playful world, till the day Jean-Jacques admits to have met another woman. Although he tries to tell her otherwise, Ariane is convinced that he desires this other woman, Elisabeth. With the impending risk of having their relationship end over this supposed desire, she tells him to give in to temptation to quench his desire. Although not wholeheartedly convinced himself, Jean-Jacques none the less goes out to meet the mysterious Elisabeth. It turns out to be a very eventful evening.

Emmanuel Mouret is rapidly establishing himself as a modern master of comedy, theatrical-style, even if he is still perfecting his art. "Fais-Moi Plaisir" stands clearly in line with his previous comedies of "Changement d'adresse" and "Un baisir s'il vous plait", and hopefully not the last either! It is a pity to ruin the thread of unfolding events which take you from one sketch to another, but perhaps an illustration of a -here Jacques Tati style humour- scene:

When Jean-Jacques arrives at Elisabeth's front door, he takes out a piece of paper on which he had written her doorcode and starts punch it in. And it continues… being long enough to be the international phone number of someone in central India. But the door opens. He steps into the hall and into an elevator. Jean-Jacques quickly notices that there are no buttons. Even before the confusion can settle, he hears a voice bidding him welcome into the elevator, and asking him which floor he would like to go to. He replies: "4". The elevator voice asks him to repeat which floor he would like to go to. He says "Eh, fourth floor". The elevator again says that is does not understand, and asks him to repeat. Jean Jacques says: "I'd like to go to the fourth floor… please" and the doors close…

As Jean-Jacques charms all the beautiful ladies surrounding him, we too are swept along through the romantic dreamy world of wide-eyed starlets in hidden corners till our brutal awakening back to earth: the ending. While in itself unremarkable, it still comes along as floodlights in the night. It is a curiosity to leave a comedy unsettled, but the ending is out of character with the film. A blemish on a creative and humorous achievement… but watch it none the less...